Will There Be Black Panther 3? What Plans Does Marvel Have with T’Challa’s Successor?

The second Black Panther movie, officially titled Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is set to conclude Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe when it hits theaters on November 11, 2022. It is one of the most anticipated Marvel movies, not only because of the predecessor’s great success but also because this sequel will need to introduce a successor to T’Challa’s Black Panther.

As we all know, T’Challa will not appear in the MCU again after the actor Chadwick Boseman passed away in August 2020, and Marvel Studios announced they won’t cast a new actor to take the role. Still, they decided to move forward with the sequel, and with that movie just around the corner, some might wonder if will there be a third Black Panther movie.

As of right now, there are no official indications or announcements that Black Panther 3 will happen. Still, it’s known that every movie in the MCU that got the sequel also managed to conclude the trilogy, at least, which can give us a good assumption that Black Panther 3 will happen eventually.

Still, The Multiverse Saga of the MCU is pretty crowded with the schedule and it’s not known when we’ll see some other sequels that we’re expecting (like Eternals 2, Shang-Chi 2, or Doctor Strange 3).

So, it’s all a matter of how important is the role of the new Black Panther in the future of the MCU. Although it’s not confirmed yet, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we’d see the new Black Panther in two upcoming Avengers movies, and after that, if another Black Panther movie will happen, remains anyone’s guess.

The original Black Panther was one of MCU’s biggest successes, can the sequel live up to that?

Chadwick Boseman debuted as T’Challa, the original Black Panther, in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. He reprised the role in his standalone movie in February 2018, before he appeared in Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. The standalone Black Panther movie was one of MCU’s biggest successes, with more than $1.3 billion grossed worldwide, and seven Academy Award nominations.

It was the first MCU movie ever that was nominated for Best Picture, and also the first (and still the only) movie that won the Academy Award. The movie won three Academy Awards, for Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design. With such a huge success, the sequel was a sure thing, although it remains a question if the sequel will manage to be at least equally successful. Commercially? Probably. But critically? We’ll have to wait and see.

Black Panther 2 was officially announced at D23 Expo in August 2019, with Ryan Coogler set to return as writer and director and Chadwick Boseman set to reprise the role. Unfortunately, in August 2020, Boseman lost his battle with colon cancer, four years after the disease was diagnosed. Many actors and celebrities paid tribute to Boseman, and Marvel Studios announced in December 2020 that Black Panther 2 will move forward, but they will not look for a new actor to replace Boseman.

In May 2021, Marvel Studios announced that Black Panther 2 is officially titled Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the fans have been asking who will be the new Black Panther now, but the studio decided to keep that a secret. Although the first trailers gave us a good glimpse at T’Challa’s successor, we still can’t be 100% sure who is behind the mask. Even though the assumptions that T’Challa’s sister Shuri is his successor seem pretty solid.

What plans do Marvel Studios have with the new Black Panther?

With the introduction of a new Black Panther, another argument that speaks in favor of the potential Black Panter 3 is that Marvel Studios probably has plans with T’Challa’s successor because it’s next to impossible that this new Black Panther will appear in only one movie. As we said, there are solid grounds that the character will be a part of two upcoming Avengers movies, and after that, who knows what they’re planning for the future.

When Marvel Studios officially announced Phase 6 of the MCU, where both Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars take place, it was revealed that there are still some reserved spots on the calendar for the movies that are in development but haven’t been officially announced yet. Some expected sequels could be placed there, including the potential Black Panther 3. But if we don’t get another Black Panther movie then, then it’s safe to say that Black Panther 3 won’t happen before the Multiverse Saga concludes, if ever.

Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole wrote the script for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with Coogler returning to direct. Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Martin Freeman, and Angela Bassett are all set to reprise their roles from the first movie. Tenoch Huerta is joining the franchise as the movie’s antagonist Namor, and Dominique Thorne will debut as Riri Williams/Ironheart ahead of her own standalone series on Disney+, which is set to premiere in Fall 2023.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to premiere on November 11, 2022. Tickets are available now.

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